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Average Energy Prices, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim – April 2019

Gasoline prices averaged $3.987 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in April 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that area gasoline prices were 39.3 cents higher than last April when they averaged $3.594 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 18.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in April 2019, similar to the 18.0 cents price per kWh paid in April 2018. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.124 per therm in April was higher than the $1.024 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.987 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 37.8 percent more than the $2.894 national average in April 2019. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 28.6 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 21.1 to 37.8 percent above the national average in the month of April during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 18.6 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in April 2019 was 37.8 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.5 cents per kWh. Last April, electricity costs were 34.3 percent higher in Los Angeles compared to the nation. In the past five years, prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by 34.3 percent or more in the month of April. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.124 per therm, 8.7 percent more than the national average in April 2019 ($1.034 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 1.9 percent less per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the Los Angeles area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in April has varied between 1.9 percent below and 25.9 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area consists of Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

Technical Note

Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, 9 divisions, 2 population size classes, 8 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 23 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm, are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.

All eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity. The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits. This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and the United States, April 2018 - April 2019, not seasonally adjusted